Miami New Times: Here’s What It Would Take For Florida to Run on 100 Percent Renewable Energy

Think oil and gas drilling and nuclear power plants are only way to power South Florida’s economy? Think again.A group of Stanford scholars say they’ve proven that it is “technically and economically feasible” to run Florida’s economy 100 percent on renewable energy. And they’ve already done all the hard work for politicians, mapping out exactly how to achieve such a shift by 2050.

“People aren’t aware of what’s possible,” says Stanford professor of civil and environmental engineering Mark Jacobson, who led the research. “But when they become aware, their whole mindset changes. You’re not actually going to have all these problems people claim you’re going to have.”

The research is part of a paper published in May in the journal Energy & Environmental Science that presents road maps for how each of the 50 states can transform their energy infrastructures to be powered by wind, water and solar by 2050. The shift would completely eliminate present day greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions from energy, grow jobs and stabilize energy prices, according to the paper.

The plan also involves “electrification” of everything that currently runs partially or entirely on fossil fuels — including transportation, heating/cooling, and industry.

Sure, the road map is ambitious, but it proves the change is possible, says Sarah Shanley Hope, the executive director of the Solutions Project, which is working to accelerate the transition to 100 percent clean, renewable energy. Some states, such as New York, are already adopting much greater reliance on renewables. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s State Energy Plan, released earlier this month, champions affordability of clean energy for 100 percent of people.

In Florida, the shift to 100 percent wind-water-solar would create over 500,000 new jobs, according to researchers, and result in thousands of dollars in savings annually per person.

And Shanley Hope says it’s important to point out that none of this technology is actually out of reach. All the tech is ready. So what’s stopping plans from being implemented?

“Arizona is the only other state that has more sun than Florida,” she says. “And yet Florida has the most regulatory and political barriers to allowing citizens to access that sun to power their homes, businesses and schools. We need to ensure choice and access to affordable technologies.”